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A 10.5" wide tire on a stock rim which has a backspacing of 5.25" will cause the tire to hit the OEM lower control arms unless you use spacers.
Is this only an issue at full lock? Or?.... just asking as I'm looking to go up a little in size when my 235s are done. Was hoping to do 31 10.50s... but with stock steelies on my '99. I don't believe in using wheel spacers.
I know it doesn't matter much for the LCAs with a lift, but for the record, currently sitting on a 2 inch lift.
Lift doesn't have anything to do with LCA contact. It's strictly a rim backspace issue. An example of where my 235's would rub would be when pulling in to my shale driveway. If I had the wheels turned fairly tight (not locked though) and dropped in to a shallow washout that's there while turning they hit. Nothing too extreme but I did stay aware when off road to make sure I didn't get too off camber in a tight turn. I could see them contacting pretty hard if in the wrong situation especially at full lock.
My rims have a 4.25" backspace and I'm on a 2" lift up front and maybe 2 3/4" in the back. I quit running flares and have no other clearance issues otherwise so I'm sure I could run 31's but I'm sure I wouldn't like the drop in low end power.
Lift doesn't have anything to do with LCA contact. It's strictly a rim backspace issue. An example of where my 235's would rub would be when pulling in to my shale driveway. If I had the wheels turned fairly tight (not locked though) and dropped in to a shallow washout that's there while turning they hit. Nothing too extreme but I did stay aware when off road to make sure I didn't get too off camber in a tight turn. I could see them contacting pretty hard if in the wrong situation especially at full lock.
My rims have a 4.25" backspace and I'm on a 2" lift up front and maybe 2 3/4" in the back. I quit running flares and have no other clearance issues otherwise so I'm sure I could run 31's but I'm sure I wouldn't like the drop in low end power.
Right.. I knew that lift has nothing to do with rubbing the LCAs or not... just tossed that in there.
Maybe it's just my personal perception of it...but with my mild 2-2.5" lift.... the 235s just seem kinda small to me. Now like you... I'd rather have a balance of form AND function. I've got 355s w/LSD in the back. But I don't want to have to "tip toe" over every part of a trail. Now that said, anytime I hit trails, I would call them pretty mild ones. Not what I would consider true "wheeling"... just enough for me to have fun and be able to still drive it home afterwards. Plus it's my DD so don't want to build it into a trail rig that sucks when it comes DD duties.
And even though I don't do serious wheeling... I don't want to go so large that they are "stuffed" in there.... I want larger but not so large that with my current setup that I don't have room for articulation without issues.
Maybe something equivalent to a 30 instead of 31? Or just stay with the 235s? I read that 30s aren't true 30"..more like 29-29.5....and 31s measuring in a true diameter of on average 30-30.5....so Height-wise that would still leave some room on a 2-2.5' lift vertically.
Maybe the real issue is the width when you get into the 31... as I'm running the stock steelies which I want to keep and not willing to change the spacing for obvious reasons.
With stock gearing of 355 w/LSD in the rear... I don't want to turn it into a dog on the low end with larger tires. So...... anyone find the "sweet-spot" of size vs. power on tires?
"Are those 235s in that picture of yours too EZ? "
Yea they're 235/75R15 Falken AT3W's. I'll need to replace them by next winter and unless something new comes along I'm going with LT30X9.50R15 General Grabber A/T X's. Just put a set of them in 235 on our '96 Blazer this past October and so far I'm impressed. Tire width is definitely the issue with the LCA arms. IF I could have found some factory 16x7 rims with the std XJ rim backspace I'd have gone with them instead of my aftermarket 15x7's. 16" tires can be had as narrow as a 235 15" but taller. For example an LT235/85R16 is the same width as a 235 (9.3") but is 31.7" tall. FOR ME and the area I travel I'm not going 31" and up do to the power loss. https://tiresize.com/tires/General/Grabber-AT-X.htm
maybe 30's are the way to go... is starting to look like possibly the best balance between size (form) and low loss of low end power on stock gearing. (function)
I know when I went from a 215@27.7" to a 235@28.9" (1.2" difference) there was a power loss. I'm sure the 2.1" difference between a 31/10.50 and a 235 will be noticeable. 235 to a 30 is only 1.1" difference so I expect a bit of loss that I can deal with. Something else to take in to consideration is tire width:
215= 8.5"
235= 9.3"
30= 9.5"
31= 10.5"
All the above figures are based on the Grabber A/T x tire.
Price wise I got the 235's for $523.96. 30's I can get for $530.44. What was nice is at the time I got the 235's General had a $100 rebate which I did receive.
I run an aftermarket short arm and 29psi road pressure and expect and accept that it is much rougher than stock. A long arm with softer springs may be what you are longing for, or perhaps just spend a lot more time off-road.
Haha, “just spend more time off road.” I like that! That’s the plan. I have the front bump stops extended. Just have to extend rear which I just ended up buying 2” square tubing that I’ll cut up, drill and get longer bolts. Then, sliders!
Bastard Pack/AAL Hybrid Question
Hello everyone, new guy here, and just bought a 2000 XJ which I plan to lift 3-4". So I want to do a bastard pack lift. But the problem is that I live here in Alaska and I just called all the salvage yards and the least expense S10 pack I could find is $75 per pack. Here is my question: Can I do my own sort of bastard pack/add-a-leaf hybrid by getting AALs from Zone and short AALs from Rusty's and then adding those to my stock leaf packs (I'd probably end up taking out a leaf or 2 from each of my stock packs to make space for the new leaves)? Looks like I could do this for less than the new packs on Zone. Does anyone know or have guesses as to if this would work? What potential problems with this idea do you see? Would it be a good idea to add a second long Zone AALs to each of the potential packs? Thanks!
I'm curious to know if I can put Stock 275/65/18 wheels on my rig, I was thinking of 4.5 in lift and adapters/spacers
2001 Cherokee (Stock)
18 in Wrangler wheels (gifted)
Last edited by Pkizzy; 04-03-2021 at 08:20 AM.
Reason: Added info..
Question for a daily driver 2wd 1995 XJ. I have a 1994 XJ that I have been using for parts, and the 94 has a 3" spacer/block lift on it and Pro Comp ES3000 shocks. I was wondering if I would be able to use those shocks on a unlifted XJ? When I check Pro Comp's site it says those shocks are for a 3" and for a 0-2" lift to use the 19.5" shocks, instead of the 22.5" 32500's that I have.
The daily driver 95 that I just bought rides like ****.. The leafs are completely flat and all the bushing all trash. I was going to replace the coils with Moog, the leafs with Crown, and was hoping I could use the Pro Comp shocks since they are basically new..
The shocks specs are -
Extended Length: 22.58 inch
Collapsed Length: 13.71 inch
Travel Length: 8.87 inch
I believe the Crown leafs will give me a slight lift, but would I need a shackle lift in order to use the shocks? This is purely for daily driving, since its a 2wd...
You should be fine with those shocks. The JK Rubicon take off shocks some here are running are similar in specs and are being used on 0-3" lift XJ's.
As far as the Crown leaf springs go if you'll be using these you could end up with as much as 2" of lift.
Quick question for you folks: I am looking at some used tires + rims. Guy has the 16" Rubicon rims off a TJ (love the look, though I've heard some negatives, such as weight...??), and some 285/75/16 (32s) on there. It's a cheap setup, all 4 rims + tires for $300.
HOWEVER..... the tires are between 8/32 and 11/32 (I assume the 8/32 were rears).....Is that basically a dead tire, in terms of effectiveness off road?? Or should I bite the bullet and buy them?
My current 235/75/15's are between 11/32 and 14/32. Those I know are meaty and good, though the 11/32s make me wish there was more, but still good.
I have been trying to find 31s, to go with my upcoming lift, but these are screaming deal if the tread depth isn't a deal killer....
09-21-2015, 02:17 PM
